When Jakai Clark made the decision to transfer to SMU last offseason, reuniting with his offensive line coach and offensive coordinator from Miami, he never thought he’d be playing in the ACC again.
There has been plenty between Clark’s commitment and getting the ACC patch on his jersey again.
Clark did not go through spring with the Mustangs and when he showed up over the summer, he was admittedly not in playing shape. That resulted in him just playing in six of the final seven games of the season to preserve his redshirt and return this season.
“It was it was definitely good to have the time to get back into shape because me and Coach ( Garin) Justice both had the mutual agreement that I was not in shape to play,” Clark said. “So it was definitely good to get that opportunity to get in shape. Plus the guys in this room are so good, immediately, as soon as I walked in the building, they all welcomed me with open arms. They were all very understanding. Nobody was judgmental or like trying to put me down for it. It was definitely good to get that motivation back to get that down in my weight.”